comuter tests, 3 June
 

Hi,

I have info for people who took computer tests with on 3 June.

As I have not received the results yet, toady I called NATS to ask when I can expect to get them.

A lady told me that they had technical difficulties that day, and that they cannot "extract" the results from the system, and so, at the moment, their IT department is dealing with the issue.

Once they know anything, they're going to inform the applicants vie email.

Just great.

Bournemouth/Whitley Move
 

Hi everyone,

I'm just new to this forum :D

Earlier in the month, I completed the first assessment day and I am awaiting the results now :S ... stressful times!

Can I ask, does anyone know if the move to whitely is the reason to why they stopped the application process? and Would this mean that if I got accepted, the training wouldn't be in Bournemouth? I am really interested to know

Thanks

Can we get over it?
 

My previous comments seem to have been removed.

I would like to ask, Is there any chance that @ZOOKER and @MrFrost81 could remove your previous comments and/or edit out the text in relation to my first post.

As @MrFrost81 says, this is a professional rumour network and not a place for people to argue over me being too laid back (or informal) when posting on this website.

To be honest, I would prefer if the post was forgotten about, and that our previous comments do not take up space in the thread where other users are trying to stay on topic, would you not agree?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: There is no need to reply to this, I will remove my post when the others are gone and then we can start fresh :)

If you get accepted the training will be at the new college which is at the CTC.

There are many reasons.
Economic situation has reduced demand for ATCOs.
College move getting in the way.
Swanwick is just in the process of moving to IFACTS, until that system is running properly and all the OTJIs feel competent enough on it to mentor, there will be no more trainees there. Since 80% do radar and the majority of them work at Swanwick, I'm guessing it to be the main reason. Note the word guessing though :)

Crazy Voyager,

That is a very good response. So you are sure that the trainee ATCO course is only at Whitely? If so, at least I'm aware of what could come next, as I was only aware of the training being at Bournemouth centre.

Well, I do understand that the current economic situation has little demand for ATCO's, but that is very interesting information about Swanwick. I thought IFACTS had already been introduced there, that shows what I know!!

Thanks alot for the reply, very informative!

T.

For those wondering when applications will open again, I emailed recruitment regarding the selection and training process - I'm currently at Uni and wanted to know if I could go through selection this year, and if successful, defer training until I graduate from University (to give me more time to plan ahead if I'm not successful).

I got a very swift reply saying that deferring would not be a problem, and that recruitment will open in August.

The college at Hurn is going away completely so yes all training will be at the CTC.

In regards to IFACTS I was at Swanwick on May 30 and they were still running paper then, how ever they said they were just about to change over (think it was due the second week in June so I think they're running IFACTS now). I'm sure one of the people who acctually work there can fill in on that though :)

Thanks lareneg. That's the kind of news I was hoping to hear :p. Let's hope there aren't any delays so the recruitment process can hit the ground running in August.
Good luck with you application and uni. :ok:

Thanks Crazy Voyager. I forgot all about the IFACTS implementation. I also lose sight of the fact that some people might not know about the move to Whitely :rolleyes:.
What I was curious about was wether they had finished training their current batch at Bournemouth or if they had moved them over. Any obstacles in moving between facilities could further delay intake.
The trainees at Bournemouth and/or Whitely should undoubtably be working really hard at the moment, so it's cool if none of them have the time to spare for a silly question. :)
I suppose I could always just wait and see what happens in August.

iFACTS is being run alongside paper at the moment, some sectors are in iFACTS mode at certain time of the day and then revert to paper the rest of the time.

The times and sectors depend on how many ATCOs who are on the iFACTS team are on duty at any one time

Intresting, thanks for the info. When you say it I acctually remember being told about this during my visit (the paralell running that is).

Interesting, it must get confusing trying to run the two systems in paralell.

Lets be honest, the amount of applicants to the ATCO training in August when it re-opens will be unbelievable. I mean will this make the process even more "cut throat" ?? I suppose if this is the case, you'll just have to put even more effort in.

I can only hope that my results of assessment day one will be on a positive note.

T.

Well, I was at Prestwick on June 24th for Stage 1 in the afternoon, and I got through to the 2nd part of the day, I didn't realise how anxious I am for getting results, I just want to be put out of my misery, I feel like I messed up on the Cubes, but who knows till we get the results, good luck to all :D

MrBlue92, I was at same session! 13.00-15.30? the result waiting time is harder than I first anticipated!!

MrToad45,
I'm not sure if the acctual number of trainees will increase. I belive there are practical issues with that (such as bottlenecks being created in simulators if everyone has simulation intense training at the same time). But I'm not sure.

And due to holidays I can't get hold of my GP until august which means I can't fill in my medical declaration until then :ugh:

Oh well, I've got a hold of HR now and they said it wasn't a problem so I just have to wait. But I know how to do that now after being through the application process :}

Just got an email inviting me to do the Bio-data Personality Questionnaire. Phew, no more waiting. I did my stage 1 on 17th June.

Unfortunately I failed the Diagramming and Cubes questions. I'm going to apply again but i'm not sure when i'm able to apply? The email said it's a year after testing but does that mean the online selection tests or the stage one tests?

A year after initial application AFAIK.

To MrToad45.
While there will most likely be a surge of applicants in August and the months following, I don't imagine the application process itself will be "cut throat".
Everyone I met during my (too short) experience of assessment days were, without exception, very nice, friendly, and helpful. And that's how it should be because there's nothing to gain from being "cut throat" and everything to lose.

I'm sure the assessments won't become harder and the interviewers won't be harsher, they'll stay the same.
The inevitable extra surge of successful applicants will just have to wait a really long time for their starting dates for training.
There's already been sign of this in this thread. Crazy Voyager mentioned that during his Stage 3 he was told a realistic start date was May 2012. Pretty much a whole year to wait, and this will probably get worse before it gets better.

So... to get back to my point. You should expect no cutting of any throats during the assessments.
The starting dates are where you'll see the only real competition.
Good luck.

MrFrost81, I can see where you are coming from there and im happy you have helped me understand.

Maybe what I said about the application process becoming "cut throat", was too much :ooh:

It does seem realistic saying that the waiting times on dates, results and a course will become alot longer if a surge of applicants go through.

I can only hope that I pass my tests and get through before that happens ;)

T.

Has anyone here used FEAST Test Preparation Tool - Feasttest.com before? With stage 2 only a week or so away I'm just wondering if its worth the purchase.

When's your stage 2 Simon? It's 10 days away for me

It's on the 18th in Fareham.

I have my stage 2 on the 20th, I was also wondering if anyone had used training software to prepare for the computer tests like Simon mentioned? I've been looking at SkyTest's software; it seems pretty thorough although is fairly expensive. With something this obscure it's hard to find any reviews of it!

Stage 2 tomorrow? 21st July
 

Anyone else heading to Swanwick tomorrow for Stage 2?

Nervously reviewing the last 50 pages or so of this thread hoping to catch some last minute tips.

Anyone have any Stage 2 specific tips they'd like to impart?

Best of luck to everyone, at all stages in the process.

At stage two it is disproportionately important to get a good night's sleep and a decent breakfast in the morning too!

It's a hard day, there's little doubt about that, so try to socialise and relax with the other candidates, they will help to put you at ease. In fact they may even recognise you're name from this site (I was "outed" by a fellow PPRuNer!).

I had a fun day when I did my stage two, came out thoroughly tired but happy enough. That should be your aim. That way you will perform to the best of your ability!

Phil

Thanks for the info Phil!

It was a pretty good day. Met some great people and got through the testing, and I definitely felt thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day.

Will keep my fingers crossed. I really hope they don't make us wait the full 15 days before we hear.

Waiting for Stage 2 dates
 

Hey,

I passed my stage 1 after doing it on 17th June, but have been told that all Stage 2 dates are full. Anyone else in the same situation?

I emailed them and they told me to keep checking the system - I don't know what this means - any ideas?

Thanks

Hi Soustudent,

You should have received an email from HR "An invitation to attend an assessment centre." In it is a link "Click here to schedule interview." After doing this it will say there are no available dates. Keep checking the link regularly and one day it will have a date available for you to select. This is what they mean by "checking the system." I've been doing it for a few weeks now awaiting a stage 3 date.

as have I boingairbus..

I phoned the other day, apparently as a result of the move of college, there is a bit of a gap in Stage 3 dates until September at the earliest.

Even so "keep checking" was the advice.

Phil

Hi boeingairbus1981,

I have one of those emails from the stage 1 interview, but not yet from stage 2. I guess I shall have to wait for that to come through.

Thanks for your reply :) And good luck with Stage 3, when you get a date!

Hi SouStudent,

I'm in exactly the same boat as you are. I also passed my stage 1 on 17th June and after taking the Online Personality Questionnaire I've not had anything back.

I emailed HR and they confirmed that they would let me know by Email when stage 2 dates are added.

I guess it's a little more waiting for us - it's all part of the fun.

SouStudent,

I would email them and ask them if they've sent the invite. There was a hiccup in the system last month that meant I wasnt sent the invite. Eventually HR apologised and re-sent the email. It meant I had to do the post stage 2 personality questionnaire twice.

Phil,

There was a date that came up shortly after I passed stage 2 but it only gave me 2 days notice meaning logistically it was near impossible to attend and I wasn't prepared for the interview anyway. Thanks for the September info. I still check everyday anyway

boeingairbus:

Exactly the same as me! I had prior arrangements making it totally impossible.

I guess we'll just Wait, Out on new dates.

Phil

Hi,
I'm new to the Forum and was just wondering if any one has had a similar problem to mine, I went through the application process last year but failed on the interview, and I've been trying ever since to contact the HR department and get some feedback as I'm going to be applying again soon, but I've had no response from them. Just wondered if anyone else has had similar problems getting feedback or if its a case of I've just slipped through the cracks and need to keep badgering them? Or if its them being a bit useless. I've been emailing and phoning, though I seem to only be able to leave voicemail as no one answers the phone.
Starting to feel a bit paranoid now hoping they haven't blacklisted me if I did really bad on the interview or something like that!
Thanks,
Chris

Chris,

I am in exactly the same boat as you! I was never able to get the feedback last time and I am through to stage 3 again now.

Best of luck though

Seb

Seb,

Thank you that's put my mind at ease! Good luck for your upcoming stage 3.

Chris

Hi to all. I have a question regarding a maths problem which I know how to resolve, yet I just don't know how it could be done mentally. And, since the maths test, despite you having a paper and pencil, requires high speed mental capacity to resolve, the paper and pencil becomes useless due to the short time you are given. So, would anyone know how to explain how the following problem would be resolved in your head, please?

An aircraft consumes 5600 lbs of jet fuel per hour at a cruising speed of 241,66 mph. How much fuel will it onsume at a speed of 189,88 mph assuming a direct correlation between speed and fuel consumption?

If this helped: SOL:4400. --> V1/consumption1=V2/consumption 2
consumption 2= (V2*consumption 1)/V1

I.E: I just can't divide in my head 241,66/5600 ........................... Please, a clue. Thanks

Approx 19/24
20/25 or 4/5ths for simplicity
1/5 of 5600 is 1120
1120 x 4 is 4480
Pick the answer closest to that (it's multiple choice)

Just noticed the speed. ha ha. Was it the space shuttle?

boeingairbus1981, thanks for your reply and sorry about my clumsiness but I don't really understand what exactly you mean you're so brief.... Could you go in to a bit more of a detailed explanation please??, thanks again

Sorry for being so brief. I was just going through in my mind what I would do at stage 1 if presented with such a question given the time restraints. I'll try to explain a bit more. Bear in mind though aircraft don't fly at such speeds. You're more likely to get 300mph or a speed in knots eg 480knts.

The question says a direct correlation between speed and fuel consumption.
If an aircraft goes slower it will use less fuel
So at the high speed (24166mph) it uses 5600 lbs of fuel per hour
At the lower speed (18988mph) it will use less fuel
Exactly how much less will be the ratio 18988/24166 multiplied by 5600
Given you only have a few minutes to answer this and no calculator I would round it up to roughly 20,000/25,000 multiplied by 5600 as the ratio 20000/25000 easily converts to the fraction 4/5ths or 0.8.

4/5ths of 5600 is 4480.

Multiple choice answers may be: A- 4400 B- 10,700 C - 320 D 15,800

So you would choose A.

In reality you will not get unrealistic airspeeds or anything too complicated. Things will easily divide down